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THE top official in the Department of Transport has moved to quell re- ports that the Shannon Airport Au- thority and Shannon Development are to be merged.

In response to a question from Fine Gael TD Pat Breen at the Dail’s Transport Committee, the Secretary General at the Department of Trans- port, Julie O’Neill, said: “I have heard suggestions along those lines.

It has not been raised as an explicit proposal at this stage.

Ms O Neill was speaking at the Dail ‘Transport Committee last Thursday where senior officials from the department explained why Min- ister Noel Dempsey was not told of Aer Lingus plans to withdraw from the Shannon-Heathrow service.

She added that there was “no spe- cific proposal on my desk or in the department in regard to that issue.”

On the work being done by a top

level Government inter-departmen- tal group on Shannon, senior official, John Murphy said: “A number of de- velopments are being examined in other areas in terms of institutional reform and the investment that needs to be made, whether under Transport 21 or in other areas. Work will pro- ceed on that.

Mr Murphy said in answer to a question from Mr Breen on the €53m economic and tourism development plan for the Shannon region that it

would “be finalised shortly”.

As part of the committee’s plan to produce a report on the future of Shannon, chairman of the Shannon faVbu led maULNeLO UIA CS¥a Ua Ne erclme)er:Net- ce han is to also appear before the com- mittee in the near future.

Ms O’Neill acknowledged that in the context of other challenges facing Shannon airport, the SAA needed the loss of its Heathrow slots “like a hole in the head”.

Deputy Timmy Dooley said that

he was “still baffled as to why they failed to communicate this critical information to the minister”.

He said: “It has had an impact on the region which I represent and, in my mind, will have an extremely se- rious impact in the coming years.

‘While the members of the delega- tion might believe their actions blind sided the minister, those actions have devastated or have the potential to devastate an entire region,’ Deputy Dooley added.

A WARNING of local drastic ac- tion was dropped at a meeting of the Clare Vocational Education Com- mittee this week as it listened to a delegation from St Michael’s Com- munity College, Kilmihil, on the frustrating absence of progress on a most urgently needed extension for the school.

Helena Keane, Principal, told the committee that the board of manage- ment had exhausted every avenue and still there was no progress for several years.

“Refurbishment is vital if we’re not to slip backwards in our quality of

education delivery. The college has zero failures in course subjects and examination results are regularly well above national averages,’ she ene

“Our teachers give a huge commit- ment and our pupils deserve better than working in a 20th century build- ing in the 21st century,” she added.

Martin Moloney, a teaching staff representative on the board of man- agement also addressed the meeting.

He first read a letter from staff addressed to the Chief Executive Officer of the committee, George O’Callaghan, and the Chairman, Councillor Tommy Brennan, and the other vocational education commit-

tee members.

The staff, the letter stated, had be- come increasingly uneasy at the ap- parent lack of movement from the Department of Education and Sci- ence in the past year on the expan- sion and updating building issue.

“It’s a whole year since a delega- tion met the Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin, on the matter, and staff have been most frustrated by lack of any momentum meantime,” he said.

‘This is despite continuous efforts of the chief executive officer and the committee’s infrastructure group.”

Martin Moloney added that in his eight years in the college Depart-

ment of Education officials had been there with their measuring tapes but draft reports and plans of proposed buildings appeared to have caused recession rather than progress.

“Our staff,” he noted, “are begin- ning to say what other action is re- quired by them to get movement. We can’t say as yet what way amid a growing sense of frustration.”

George O’Callaghan of the com- mittee said not a week passed when he was not in touch with the Depart- ment of Education and Science on the matter.

It had the project placed on band 2.4, a low priority rating for atten- wee

AT THE start of the year, Michael Browne and Mike Murphy sat down for a chat. Murphy was captain for the year but nobody would have known where the road was going to lead.

The two came up with a strategy that has served Tulla well and high- lights the approach they’ve taken to the season. Murphy would act as one of the prime ball winners for the Tulla forwards, he’d put his body into whatever fight for possession that presented itself and even if he only moved the sliotar three yards in the direction of the Tulla goal, that would be enough.

That Al Pacino speech in Any Giv- en Sunday, the one about inches has been thrown about for most of this new century — and taken on board particularly by the Cork hurlers – but Tulla and Murphy have personified that system this year.

TMENo aioe meee de

In the end, they didn’t get the Mun-

ster championship that they craved since taking down Crusheen in the county final, but the season has been the greatest in living memory in Tulla.

After the game on Sunday, the disappointment in Murphy’s face is obvious but it shows just how far the club has come over the course of the season.

“The way that wind was blowing,’ he says “it didn’t have any advantage for either team. It was so strong out there that it just carried the ball.”

Even as he’s talking, the cold is still seeping into him, his teeth are rat- tling and his body is shivering. It was that kind of day.

“Tn the first half, the wind was blow- ing for them but it didn’t seem to be a great help. We knew coming down here that we’d be up against a strong team and that’s how it was. The goal gave them a bit of a cushion and on a day like today, that could always swing things in one direction.”

Right to the end, Tulla didn’t die and they hung on still within touch-

ing distance.

“We did have chances even late on. They just wouldn’t go over for us and even at the end, when Andy Quinn dropped the 65 into the danger area for us, we still could have snatched a win.

“But it just wasn’t going to be our day. The bottom line is that it’s been a great season for us. To come out and win a county championship was a dream come true. It would have been fantastic to have come down here and won a Munster title for Tul- la, but it didn’t happen. We’ve got the county to keep us going through the winter.”

Not just that. While the disappoint- ment of the Munster final might have been there on Sunday, it’s sure not to linger.

Last week, Murphy became a fa- ther. A boy.

“Another Tulla hurler on the way,’ somebody reminded him on Sunday. Because of the year just finished, he’ll be part of a club with a whole new set of ambitions.

THE end of an era in policing in north Clare will be marked this week when Lahinch Sergeant Michael Gallery retires from the force. The Ennisty- mon native has taken early retire-

ment to concentrate on farming.

Mr Gallery has been the sergeant in Lahinch for the past four-and-a-half years and has played a pivotal role in controlling night-time lawlessness in the seaside resort.

He moved to Lahinch in 2003,

having served in Kilrush, Limerick, Pearse Street in Dublin and Donegal, over the past three decades.

His job over the past few years has been focused on curbing public dis- order on the streets of Lahinch, in- vestigating tragedies at the Cliffs of

Moher and solving rural crime.

During his career he spent a year working in Bosnia and intends to re- visit there in the coming months.

A bone of contention in Lahinch 1s the lack of Garda resources available in the town. “It 1s under-resourced. There should be at least four person- nel here (up to last year there were just two, with a third deployed there in 2006). I know the authorities have to look at 24-hour stations and make sure they are covered, but Lahinch 1s by far the busiest sub-station in north Clare,’ he said.

He has seen several rows on the streets as hundreds of youngsters pour out from the nightclubs in the early hours. The issue hit crisis point three years ago when a full-blown riot broke out. As a result, gardai objected to exemptions for the local nightclubs and he believes this has helped matters.

“Things were out of control. We looked for resources and didn’t get them. We objected to the exemptions. Judge Mangan became aware there was a problem and cut back closing times and imposed heavy fines for public order offences. The situation has changed. In 2005 there were 95 arrests for public order and 30 as- saults were reported. Five of those were assaults on gardai. We now have four gardai working every Sat- urday night and while there are up to 100 public order arrests every year, the number of assaults has reduced. There were just four assaults this year, so it is effective,” he added.

As he prepares to sit back and enjoy life in retirement, he says one thing is crucial in police work — being seen on the beat. “I worked in Pearse Street for 10 years and rarely did I ever sit in the car,” he said.

THE West Clare Women’s Forum is continuing their campaign to high- light the on going violence against women across the country and coun- AYA This Saturday and Sunday in Kil- dee Parish Church a two day long exhibition will be hosted by the west Clare women to mark the 16 Days of Action Opposing Violence Against Women.

The project created by the West Cork Women Against Violence Project and entitled “In Her Shoes”

pays a poignant tribute to all those women who lost their lives to vio- lence during the last 11 years.

The exhibition follows on from the weekends of reflection the west Clare women took part in.

As part of their contribution to the campaign the West Clare Women’s Forum contributed to the weekend Masses in Kilrush, Kilkee and Lis- deen during the past fortnight.

The exhibition in Kilkee this week- end comprises more than 120 pairs of shoes, each pair representing one woman who had been murdered in Ireland since 1996.

A date of death for each woman who had been killed was written on a la- bel on each shoe alongside the name of a woman who donated a pair of shoes in that woman’s remembrance. A number of prominent women do- nated shoes for this purpose.

“We felt that the stark image of an exhibition of shoes would be poign- ant for viewers as they would rep- resent individual women’s stories, their lives and their deaths. The shoes symbolised the empty spaces left by the women. We called the ex- hibition “In her shoes” to bring home the fact that any one of us could be

in this situation. Domestic violence and murder can happen to anyone,” a spokesperson for the exhibition said.

The exhibition was on display in four different towns in west Cork on four days over the 16 Days of Action – Bantry, Macroom, Castletownbere and Dunmanway.

‘We chose towns where we wished to raise awareness of the issue and of our service. Volunteers and staff were available to hand out leaflets outlining the background to the 16 days of action campaign and contact details for our services,’ the spokes- person added.

THE long-term future of two Clare hurling clubs hangs in the balance before an historic joint-vote at the weekend.

Sunday is set to become a pivotal occasion in the history of both the Inagh and Kilnamona hurling clubs as a proposal to amalgamate both has been put forward.

The matter will be voted on this Sunday when Inagh and Kilnamona will hold their AGM?’s simultane- ously. A three-quarters majority is needed from both clubs if the motion is to be formally passed.

The connotations of such a move are far reaching as the amalgama- tion will lead to the folding of two historic institutions in order to create one new super-club.

Inagh and Kilnamona are currently amalgamated at underage level where they have experienced great success in recent years, winning minor and under 21 A titles.

In the past, they have also merged at senior level but never to the detri- ment of their own distinct club sides at intermediate level.

If the proposal is passed by both clubs, it will mean that at adult level a senior and an intermediate side will represent the new club after In- agh consulted the county board at the November meeting.

Kilnamona were relegated from senior this year after losing out in a relegation play-off against Smith O’Briens while Inagh just missed out on a quarter-final spot.

With such an important issue, some Opposition to the proposal is antici-

Oe Kexeb

However, some speculation in the Kilnamona camp yesterday [Mon- day] suggested that this motion is being railroaded through by their executive committee without the full backing of the club.

Further speculation of a member- ship controversy on the Kilnamona side 1s starting to build as confusion over full membership means that some members find themselves inel1- gible to vote next Sunday.

A source said, “In recent years the amalgamation of Kilnamona and Inagh at underage level has yielded success and most people in the par- ish would not have an issue with the clubs amalgamating for senior hurl- ing but not at the expense of winding up Kilnamona hurling club.

‘There is a lot of opposition to the

proposed winding up of Kilnamona but its looks like most of the opposi- tion is from people in the parish who are not going to be allowed vote in the meeting to decide something that is the cornerstone of most rural par- ishes in the country.”

A splinter club known as the Kil- namona Gaels is also being touted if the move goes ahead. ‘Inamona’, as the amalgamation is affectionately known, could bring to an end 120 years of the Kilnamona club who have been in existence since the ear- liest days of the GAA. A team repre- senting Inagh first made an appear- ance in 1918 and officially reformed as the Inagh hurling club in 1953.

Historic clubs in even more historic times but there’s set to be much de- bate at the respective AGM’s next Sunday.

“HAMNA chakula nyumbani” — “There is no food at home”. When we answered the knock on the door last Sunday, Anna’s stark, simple message, her frail body and sad eyes told all. We know this family of seven. What she said was literally true. They would not eat that day if we didn’t help.

It’s almost Christmas but when you’re poor, Christmas means noth- ing. Here in Pemba, the vast majority of people are poor and it 1s a struggle for them just to survive. There is no big Christmas spending spree.

Yesterday in the fish market we saw an old man who had only 200Tsh (12c), buying the entrails of a fish for his dinner. It was all he could afford. Later at the shop a young woman on

her way to the hospital with her sick baby was buying a single dispos- able nappy.

What about Santa? Last week Laila, a tu- tor in the college asked me, “Who its this Father Christmas? I read about him in a book.” Christ- mas is a time for chil- dren’s toys and presents but we have never seen a doll and pram in Wete.

Baby brothers and sisters are their ‘dolls’. If kids have a ball it 1s usually made from plastic bags tied up in string and toy cars are manufactured from plastic containers with ‘wheels’ cut from old flipflops.

As I write, I am being serenaded by 10-year-old Makame (pictured),

sitting on the veranda playing his ‘guitar’ made out of a_ bent stick, a piece of fishing line and a margarine tin. We have yet to see a child with a mobile phone or an MP3 play- er. A ‘present’ for them would be a biro, a few marbles or a hair bau- ble which could double as a bracelet.

Leisure time here is different too. The ‘office night out’ is a group of men sitting on the footpath outside the mosque at dusk, drinking spiced tea from a communal kettle and play- ing draughts with bottle tops on an improvised board.

Meanwhile, groups of chatting women move along the street buying

cheap fried cassava or sweet buns from their neighbours’ food stalls.

In the west we have lost the simplic- ity of Christmas and the Christmas story. But for us this year, Christmas will be a low-key affair.

Despite missing family and friends it will be refreshing to celebrate the Holy Season without the trimmings, walking among children who have not yet heard of Father Christmas.

WHEN former county councillor PJ Burke first proposed a sewerage scheme for Mullagh he did not ex- pect that more than 30 years would pass before the contract for the work would be signed.

The retired Mullagh man was in Scariff last week to see Clare County Council sign a €7 million contract with P&D Lydon Plant Hire Ltd of Gortacurra, Cross, County Mayo to provide a Bundled Sewerage Scheme for five villages and towns in Clare, one of which was Mullagh.

As far back as September 10, 1973 the members of Clare County Coun- cil approved a sewerage scheme for both Mullagh and Quilty.

On January 31, 1974 the then Coun- ty Manager, Joe Boland appointed

a consultant engineer to prepare a preliminary report and establish the cost of a new sewerage scheme for nine villages among them Mullagh, Quilty, Carrigaholt, Doonbeg and Cooraclare.

On December 12, 19774 the prelimi- nary report for Quilty was sent to the Department of Local Government for approval, with the Mullagh report to follow on September 10, 1974.

It would be the 1990s before the sewerage schemes would become a live issue again at which point Mul- lagh and Quilty were considered as oiler

During the early part of this decade the schemes were “bundled” with Scariff and Feakle for consultancy purposes and after much interaction with the Department of the Envi- ronment and Local Government the

scheme finally got the go ahead.

The civil engineering contract signed on Wednesday is the first of two major contracts associated with the scheme (Mullagh, Quilty, Feakle and Scariff) and involves the con- struction of over 20 kilometres of sewers and two kilometres of wa- ter mains, along with Stormwater (drainage) sewers and other ancil- lary works. The Bundled Sewerage Scheme is scheduled for completion in November 2008.

Speaking following the contract signing at Clare County Council’s re- cently opened area offices in Scariff, Mayor of Clare, Councillor Patricia McCarthy said, “This is a contract of major significance for the county and will provide vital infrastruc- ture for the people of east and west Clare. When completed, the scheme

will introduce significant scope for increased development and tourism potential in these important rural akon

“IT am particularly pleased to sign this contract given that I, along with many others, have had personal in- volvement going back over 30 years in campaigning for the advancement of the Quilty and Mullagh schemes,” added the mayor.

West Clare councillor Christy Cur- tin said “The intense campaign over the last decade has paid diffidence and I hope it will compensate for the frustration for the long wait since 1973 when it was first muted.”

Meanwhile Mr Burke said that it was great to see the contract signed finally. The council is currently con- structing a water supply improve- ment schemes in Kilkee.

THE CHAIRMAN of the Clare Childcare Committee believes that the Government may perform a u- turn on contentious proposals that may leave community childcare services worse off.

Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) said yesterday that there was a possibility that the Minister for State at the Department of Health, Brendan Smith, “may see the light of day” in relation to the proposed Community Childcare

Subvention Scheme (CCSS) being introduced from next January.

Cllr Arkins said that if the scheme was introduced in its current form “all the good work of the last six to seven years in this area will be over- aU bw elere

Cllr Arkins confirmed that case studies have been carried out on a number of community-based child- care providers in Clare and it has found “that they will be considerably worse off” under the new funding mechanism.

In the Dail, Minister Smith said “that the new scheme will provide an effective framework for the contin- ued targeting of additional resources towards disadvantaged parents and their children while continuing to Support community childcare serv- CoO EUR YE

‘The scheme has been informed by and takes account of a number of en- hancements recommended by the re- port of the Value for Money Review of the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme 2000-06. . .

‘The new scheme has clear advan- tages over its predecessor. There is an increase in the level of funding available under it, and a majority of services will benefit from the chang- es it introduces.”

However, Cllr Arkins said yester- day that the new scheme hadn’t been measured in terms of rural isolation or economies of scale. The Ruan- based councillor said that if the new Scheme was introduced, it would result in greater fees for parents in Clare and would make some com-

munity childcare services in Clare unviable.

Cllr Arkins said that lobbying had already taken place with Minister Smith and Junior Minister, Tony Kil- leen on the issue.

Cllr Arkins believes that the meas- ures were put in place with Dublin- based community childcare provid- ers in mind. He said: “It is an east versus west argument to some extent and Minister Eamon O’Cuiv is now on side and I am confident that the new measures will be overturned.”

SINGER Sean Keane will take to an interesting stage next Wednes- day when he performs at the Cliffs of Moher. The concert, which is in support of the local RNLI, will take place at the new Atlantic Edge Cen- tre at the cliffs from 8pm on Wednes- day, December 12.

Keane comes from one of Ireland’s most famous musical families, which also includes his sister Dolores, and has been performing since childhood. He was voted performer of the year

by readers of Irish Music magazine in 1998 and 1999 and was described as “the greatest Irish musical find of the 90s” by the London Independent.

He will be joined by local fiddler Tara Breen, concertina player and TG4 Gradam winner Edel Fox, singer Jennifer Ryan and harpist Meabh de SUNN oe

“We are delighted and excited to be hosting Sean Keane at the Atlantic Edge. I hope this will be the first of many concerts we will stage in the theatre here,’ said Katerine Webster, director of the Cliffs of Moher New

Visitor Experience. “The RNLI is a cause very close to our hearts and the concert fits in very well with our Christmas Music for Charity at the Cliffs programme that runs up to December 23.

“The lifeboat concert kicks off our Christmas programme which will see local Clare national and sec- ondary schools and other commu- nity groups performing at the cliffs on days throughout December for a range of local charities.

“Performances will take place both indoors and outdoors at the Cliff

Edge Centre and we hope this will be great experience for all concerned.”

The Sean Keane concert begins at 8pm but people are asked to be in the centre at 7pm, where there will be a drinks reception. All the artists and the cliffs centre are giving their time and place free of charge.

Tickets are available from Record Rack in Ennis or directly from the reception at the Cliffs of Moher, phone 065 7086141.

For more details of the perform- ance programme, visit www.cliffsof- moher.ie/events.